On the one hand, sure, she’s on a trip, it’s hot, so she pulls something from the bottom of her drawer — whatever. On the other, she fancies herself a fashion icon.

Apparently that wasn’t the first time MO outfitted herself in shorts:

June 2009.

If anything, look #1 is a clear winner in the shorts category.

7. If you have a large botto, don’t put a ruler to it:

June 2010.

Sometimes, though, you need not a ruler but a measuring tape. I’m scratching my head trying to figure out why this wasn’t altered:

April 2011.

Remember how Sarah Palin got in trouble for her family’s 150K campaign trail wardrobe? Well, one of the reasons the bill was so high is because the stylist was buying three of everything, Sarah’s size, size up and size down. I imagine something like that should be happening with FLOTUS… Only in this case Michael Kors didn’t have the sizes, and Michelle said: “Sure, I’ll fit into a 10″. So the jacket fits fine — down to her waist. But it’s too snug to cover the First Lady’s butt, hence the fold right below her waistline. The skirt looks like the stitches are going to pop any minute.

I imagine FLOTUS has heard about alterations. After all, during the 08 Presidential campaign they had her wear a $35 H&M dress. Of course, she hasn’t worn anything by that retailer since, or at least not yet; they might put her on a H&M diet once the 2012 campaign season starts in earnest.

Left to right: Michelle, Barack, teleprompter, surrounded by fans.

Now, from what I can tell, the garment fits. Given how Michelle doesn’t have a standard body, it had to be altered. Of course, once the bodice alterations are factored in, the dress cost way more then $35 (political consultants who came up with this idea are more expensive still). Anywho, MoBama has to be familiar with the concept of couture fit, and she sure has the access to world-class seamstresses, so why not use it?

6. What do you get when you put together a flowing, bright skirt of indeterminate aesthetic that cuts FLOTUS in the widest part of her butt, a shiny belt that sits on the most protruding part of her tummy and a white t-shirt? A food pyramid:

Summer 2010.

5. I submit, I was a bit mortified when I recently took Yelena to buy shoes. But then I remembered this picture of our First Lady, looked at my daughter’s choices again and thought: “Sure dear, just get the tackiness out of your system.”

August 2009.

If you remember these $540 sneakers were worn at a soup kitchen.

4. If fashion is a form of visual communication, than Michelle is an failure of a fashionista because she fails to deliver the White House’s message. Below is the most notorious example of FLOTUS’s messaging problem, her medal of dishonor. This festive dress sparked outrage when she wore it to the Medal of Honor ceremony:

September 2009.

A year later she repeats the error:

September 2010.

And this May?

May 2011.

Some Mobamaheads argued that this dress is entirely appropriate because of the pink puppies motiff. You got to admire FLOTUS’s dogged determination to figure out how to make a garden party look work for the Medal of Honor ceremony. I say, considering that the garment is sleeveless and the colors are jubilant, it’s still a fail. But she gets a lovely pinata for trying:

3. An all-time people’s favorite:

June 2009.

She probably thought that she ‘d show Red State redneck uneducated conservative Americans how a worldly person behaves abroad when she wore this creation of a British designer Christopher Kane. But what the world saw is that she didn’t know that Brits have a sense of humor. This get up was thoroughly ridiculed in the UK, and even PuffHo told her to lose it.

2. Apparently, this doesn’t mean much to Dear Lady who recently turned up in another “respecting religion and culture” looks, that, for some unfathomable reason, also involves leggings, this time adorned with studs, and a micro mini:

June 2011.

1. By now I’m out of words, so I’m calling a caption contest:

March 2010.

UPDATE: Many thanks to Political Junkie Mom for linking to this series.

Heathermc,
There is a color-blind (gay cancer survivor, true story) contestant on Project Runway this season. So perhaps there is hope for her.

Linda,
Lets pest him!
I’m thinking about using #1 for the election day 2012… Maybe all signs point to exit…

Harrison,
I actually like that blue-green dress, and it seems to fit her, at least from the front. I’d buy an authentic vintage dress like that for $30. I’m not sure a FLOTUS should wear something like that to begin with, and certainly not to Medal of Honor ceremonies.

Well, it was at the Medal of Honor ceremony.
It’s been speculated that her handlers make her look like crap because she’s difficult and they resent her. I imagine she surrounds herself with people who kiss her [giant] butt… Perhaps her being outrageous is not a liability.